Where will Notre Dame end up come bowl season?

With the loss to Pitt, Notre Dame drops to a three-loss team and is out of contention for a BCS bowl bid.

Notre Dame won't be playing in Miami, New Orleans or Tempe, Ariz. So where will the Irish end up at the end of the regular season?

Here are a few popular projections:

Independence BowlDec. 31 | Shreveport, La.Projected matchup(s): Boston College, DukeCBS Sports' Jerry Palm, ESPN's Brad Edwards and Phil Steele all project Notre Dame heading south for a New Year's Eve game. Steele and Edwards both see the Irish facing rival Boston College, while Palm has Notre Dame taking on Duke. Because Arkansas, Florida, Kentucky and Mississippi State are all catapulting toward bowl-ineligible records, the Irish would be in position to take the SEC's 10th bowl-tie in.

Sports Illustrated's Stewart Mandel has the Irish penciled in for an early bowl game against No. 15 Northern Illinois in Detroit. The Huskies are on a warpath to sneak into the automatic-berth range of a BCS bowl. For the Irish to become eligible for this game, an eighth Big Ten team will fail to qualify for a bowl. That relies on how Indiana and Northwestern (both four-win teams) fare in their final games. The Hoosiers must be Purdue and either Wisconsin or Ohio State, while the Wildcats must get past Michigan and Illinois.

Heart of DallasJan. 1 | DallasProjected matchup: Iowa

SB Nation's Jason Kirk sees an Irish-Hawkeye game on New Year's Day. This seems like a long shot for the Irish considering the Big Ten already has seven eligible teams and Conference USA already has five.

ESPN's Mark Schlabach is sending Notre Dame to warmer weather with a Poinsettia Bowl matchup against Utah State. Army is the automatic qualifier for this game, but since the 3-7 Black Knights won't qualify for a bowl this year, the door is wide open for Notre Dame. Given the uncertainty surrounding Detriot and Dallas, this could be the most likely destination for the Irish.